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i think was cheating becuse another sword 3x three times lower weight xD easy beating a poor beginner whos use this heavy practice bamboo barbell vs rubber plastic no weight shit bro this unfair
@@alexyj5315 in terms of real fighting yes! but to compare a sport with a martial art is always tricky. For one it is clear to see that the kendoka is much more explosiv in his movements and through that also lands a view strikes. i’m practicing both and also liked the match
Nice to see the difference. Kenjutsu aims to hurt - or kill - the opponent, while Kendo is about scoring points. Hard to compare though because that's two completely different philosophies.
@@Mustard_Dispenser Most of the cases yes. But there's a distinct difference. Factors such as edge alignment and the area of strike plays a crucial role in scoring and actually slashing through.
@@v_fencer yes, but I think that the kendoka has more mat time. Live experience is more important than anything else, he’s developed the muscles and fight iq.
@@Mustard_Dispenser Well yes, but no. There are few valid Kendo strikes the Kendoka pulled out that lacks structure and commitment for the strikes to be cutting strike. For ex, around 1:32 it's actually pretty clear that it's a totally failed cutting strike if he's holding a real sword, even if he landed it. And it's more of problem with Kendo as a sport-leaning martial art, not the problem of the Kendoka.
@@tatumergo3931 >Kenjutsu or more aptly named kobudo is aimed at one simple thing. Kill the enemy and survive in the battlefield.... I'm not sure if that's really accurate. Most surviving koryu we have today were founded during the relatively peaceful Tokugawa period, which was also the period during which Japanese sword arts evolved towards spirituality, pacification and during the later stages of the period - sportification. I'm sure there are some schools around that fit your description, but they're not that common. Some schools also claim a lineage all the way back to the sengoku period, but besides a few exceptions those claims can be a little dodgy. >So how does that translate into combat? Well for one thing you don't worry about parrying attacks. The main objective in kenjutsu is to attack simultaneously at the incoming attack. I'm sure that is true for some schools, but again it might be quite an overgeneralization.
To my understanding, Kendo's a *sportified* version of Kenjutsu, which means a lot of its techniques come from Kenjutsu, which's why it managed to get the occasional hit on the Kenjutsu guy; but *as* a sportified version of it, Kendo has a lot of *rules* practitioners have to follow, like only hitting *specific* parts of the body, that just don't even *exist* in a *real* fight, which *Kenjutsu* was practiced for, and so isn't even *supposed* to follow. That's why if I got the chance to practice one of them for *real* combat, I'd go with Kenjutsu.
as far as i can tell, nowadays kenjutsu focuses a lot on the sword techniques and typically your using a katana that can cut, so you end up practicing the techniques on rolled up bamboo mats. its pretty hard to spar (and probably not very safe) to spar with cutting katana, so i don't really know how often kenjutsu practitioners spar (also outside of Japan its pretty hard to find a Kendou dojo let alone a Kenjutsu one). in terms of practicality it would seem that one would have to really do both, since Kendou would help with understanding distance as well as the environment around you relative to you and your opponent, while the kenjutsu dojo would get your techniques down. we say all this then some dude who practices teppoudou shows up and says hi lol.
@@andrewle7429 many types of kenjutsu schools spar with bokken. while cutting practice is done with uchigatana, technique practice is mostly done with iaito.
You're just about the only channel I trust for videos that display one type of art vs. another. You guys seem to be able to line up roughly-equitable opponents to make the videos with, and evade making any sort of weird or biased commentary or displays of ego. I love it. Thank you so much!
@@SamuraiSwordperson Iaijutsu is quick draw sword sheathing technique. If applied correctly it's just as lethal as a full Kendo Men cut coming at your head.
@@outboundflight4455 well yeah I practice it too. It's just that kendo would have the advantage of having the point in your face already. I think such a discipline would be employed as a last resort rather than walking up to another samurai with the sword in the saya still. Or maybe if your yari broke and you had to pull the katana out real quick
@@SamuraiSwordperson I practice both Koryu Iaijutsu and Kendo and I agree with you. If I'm gonna engage in a fight best bet I'm unsheathing immediately. It creates you taking control of the kamae.You can still apply Iai techniques but obviously only the "kenjutsu" ones with the blade drawn already.
It seems that kendo training reinforces a consciousness at the tip of the blade and kenjutsu reinforces a consciousness encompassing the whole edge. Really cool to see in action.
The principles of Kendo are a limited version of Kenjutsu. Kenjutsu specifically this ryuha style is called Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu, considered the oldest Ryu of Japanese Swordsmanship and the purest. Many current ryuhas have a traced lineage to Katori, Kendo derrives from it but because of its focus on -do Martial arts principle it is limited in what techniques can be used and is considered a sport (yet obviously practical).
@@outboundflight4455 Thank for the learned response. I know Kendo is limited in its application and very much a sport form, and yet, I see it on this channel pull off some very decisive head snipes.
@@troyfiss9332 kendokas have the nastiest Men, Kote and Do cuts because that's all they are allowed to do. So can't really sell them short. At the end of the day in any swordfight it comes down to who is gonna land a true solid killing blow first...and it's down to the millisecond. Will both fighters end up getting cut up... probably. But one is definitely gonna die.
Thats right in Kendo we are only allowed to use the tipo of the sword, if you pay attention in the video you can maybe see a withe band on the Shinai, that represents the fraction that he can use.
As a 24th generation inheritor of the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu Owari/Shunpunkan Branch, I say that we need to respect both kenjutsu and kendo. Kendo focuses upon the athleticism and spirit of its origins, which is admirable. Practitioners of kenjutsu carry on the traditions of the past and keep it alive in the present. The kendoka has great athleticism from the constant training, and all the strikes that were performed would be effective in combat. However the weight, balance, and structure of a shinai is very different from an actual nihonto. If the kendoka were armed with an actual weapon, they will need to retrain their arms and hands. Also, kendoka go for a strike and basically run though their opponent. This is fine in sports, but this will get you killed in an actual duel. You will need to kill your opponent on the first strike if you attack like a kendoka. You learn in kenjutsu to strike once or twice and then move apart quickly out of striking distance. Their defense and parrying in kendo is also limited as there are no techniques to guard the feet or back. The offensive ability is amazing, but no fight is won purely by offense. On the other hand, most koryu incorporate little to no sparring. This makes kenjutsu feel more like an art form instead of having practical combat usage. When you put the two together, the practitioner of kendo may win purely through their athleticism. Fortunately, my branch of koryu spars very often while also learning kata. Kendo and kenjutsu have their own purpose which differs. We should not be so overly judgmental over who and what would win because we cannot truly know the outcome unless both had a real katana in their hands. Let us just appreciate the beauty of both.
What does it mean to be the 24th generation inheritor of your branch? Did you receive menkyo from the 23rd soke? Am I misinterpreting something here? Does YSR spar? I have never heard of this before. I am aware that your style's founder is credited with inventing the (fukuro) shinai which he used as a non leathal dueling weapon. I am also aware that it is used in your kata. Is sparring a derivation on the kata, or something else? Thanks, I am very curious.
@@Ianmar1 Thank you for your questions, and pardon my extremely late reply. I will someday inherit all the teachings from my shihan. He is not the soke of Yagyu, but he comes from a branch of Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, and is very close to the current soke. When I inherit all of his teachings, I will be 24th generation from his line, which if you go back a couple generations ties into the main Yagyu line. I have undergoing training at the moment, so I have not received my menkyo. The main Yagyu line now focuses mainly on kata、but the Shunpunkan branch in Nagoya that I am at spars like crazy. We practice kata to learn proper form and technique, but we do lots of sparring to actually to truly make our minds and bodies battle ready. We use equipment similar to that of a kendoka. Our speciality is actually the sliding spear technique. The Owarikan Ryu sliding spear is so devaststing to the body that we use very heavy gear when sparring.
@@nick-sherer well, then even better, I've been smacked by a bamboo sword myself without protections. It hurts, a lot(if you are lucky not to get a broken bone)
It's cool seeing the fleeting momens of similarity before the divergences. Nice that there are kenjutsu schools who pressure test their stuff and are willing to come out and spar with other arts.
@@lucascastro2802 what I don't understand is why iaido schools are one of the ones where there is little if ANY 'pressure testing'. It seems like a highly necessary component of achieving real mastery but you don't see iaidoka sparring or performing tameshigiri. If I was learning the art of the quick draw, I would want to know whether or not my techniques were likely to work in a life or death situation, no matter how unlikely it IS that I would ever face it in real life. I am curious to hear anyone's opinion on this matter.....
@@davidbennett1357 A lot of traditional martial arts believe in forms and "muscle memory" as the most important part of becoming a proficient fighter. You see it in karate, aikido, for example
This is amazing... and clearly shows that how Kendo has evolved with the goal to score points while Kenjutsu's goal is clearly to deliver a killing blow.
I have heard asked: "isn't it stupid to start a fight with the sword sheathed?" Well, imagine yourself walking down a dark street and being ambushed; practicing unsheathing (or battou jutsu) with that in mind does not sound as stupid now, does it. A katana was a sidearm in the battlefield and a selfdefense item outside it. If you had to reach for it, there was a HIGH chance you needed to do it fast and with precision. Not every fight was a duel.
And another note about battojutsu - in Japan, when two people fought with sword, the one legally considered to have started the fight was the first one to show even an inch of his blade. The instant someone does that, others can consider it an assault and are fully within their rights to kill him as self defense. Hence the tendency to wait until the very last moment to draw. It also reflects in the way katanas were worn. In a tense situation, the way the sheath is positioned at the belt could be adjusted to have he sword hilt quite far in front of the body (as seen in the video at 1:45) enabling drawing the sword in a way that relies less on pulling it out of its sheath, and more on pulling the sheath of it. This way, the sword can be moved more than halfway the distance it takes to draw it, before actually starting to take the sheath off, formally starting a fight.
@@SirConto That actually explains why the sageo is mostly a fashion accessory in many iai schools while its original purpose was to secure the sword in place. Can’t push the saya out like that if the sageo is tight.
It's interesting that the kenjutsu practitioner begin to find his most success when he started using different stances. Initially he was losing when he used a similar stance to the kendo guy but when he switched it up and started using stances that the kendo guy was not familiar with is when he began to score some hits back.
Well yeah, kendo is fundamentally based on 3 of kenjutsus stances and practicioners spend all of their time practicing those 3. The motions might not have any of the draw cuts from kenjutsu but the strikes are arguably even further refined, perhaps even as a result of ignoring the other attacks. There's basically only one thrusting attack in kendo but it gets drilled incredibly hard as a result and used reflexively when it's the right response. It doesn't come out often but when it does, it's brutal (and usually a punish for a bad call) The broader kenjutsu guy facing the kendo guy in the same stance is like a guy who plays the whole roster challenging a character specialist to a mirror match, he's just not going to as good at that specialty because he hasn't put in the same time but can pick others that have a match up advantage.
Been doing Kenjutsu for a few years now, and I remember a story about what the rules used to be like in Kendo. There was this guy who practiced Kenjutsu and I think at the time you could still represent a Kenjutsu school in a Kendo tournament. So he joins the tournament, and in his first round he went up against someone who practiced Kendo. Like in this video the Kendo guy was aiming for his opponents head, but Kenjutsu guy caught Kendo man's hand, through him over his shoulder and tagged him with his stick. Kenjutsu man was disqualified, because he was under the assumption going in that the rules were as they always were, meaning pretty much anything goes. So now Kendo has some very restrictive rules in regards to what hits count, so it doesn't encourage much diversity in how to attack. Anyway rant over, have a great day or night everyone, stay fresh🙂
Kendo has had those strict rules on what it counts as a strike since it got reinstated as a sport after it's ban during the allied occupation of Japan. It seems that kenjutsu guy was just someone that applied to a tournament without knowing the rules, broke a bunch of them and got disqualified for it. The rules with regards to what constitutes a valid strike weren't changed because of him. If there were any changes because of him, they may have been about who some organization is letting compete in their tournament.
Wow! I used to fence foil and saber in high school, and I am struck with how often the Kenjutsu fighter uses a lot of "opposition" attacks! (One binds the blade while attacking.) This was emphasized by my coach at one time! What's fascinating for me, is the aspect of starting with a sheathed blade! Not only is this very practical for self defense in a "civilian" historical context, but it also obscures the intent of binding the blade! Very fascinating!
I felt like rooting for the kenjutsu practitioner, but the moment the other guy avoided both of his opponent's scabbard and sword attacks and came out on top was truly something to behold.
that's because he didnt have the sword chambered in striking position, it was pointed forward , so to cut with it, he had to turn it which slowed hiom down giving his opponent time to react, this wouldnt have happened if the tip of the sword was pointed back, which is the proper basic stance for nito ryu.
Just remember that even in a style that has dual strikes, like sword and scabbard, a single weapon user is still usually faster because of the lag time between muscles and brain. If you do not train your flow to dual wield on muscle memory, it's better to just use the scabbard as a shield or distraction to get into the cut. Now, if you're a dual wielding master on the other hand...
From what I saw, the sword user was trying to use his scabbard to keep the kendo stick down while striking with his sword. But the kendo user did a quick top block and went for the kill. I'm just an amateur in swordfight but I think maybe it would have worked if the sword went sideway instead. But that really requires quick reaction speed/skill that can only be honed through combat experience
Wow the difference in body mechanics is clear. Kendo is fast hits, trying to tap your opponent but kenjutsu is clearly trying to cut through the opponent. It's amazing to see how how martial arts diverged
Dude, kendo strikes are powerful and able to amputate. Its the only fencing combat sport that checks cutting power and edge aligment. Please see Hogu Couple video with Blademan B (kenjutsu fighter from this video) on test cutting and try some kendo, before saing those dumb things.
@@Druid_Ignacy Kendo isn't the only fencing sport that checks cutting power and edge alignment (and even still I've seen flat strikes considered valid on this channel) you also have HEMA with bladed weapons that does that
@@sirxarounthefrenchy7773 It does not. I train it, and love it, but HEMA does it occasionally, and we don't have so well developed ways to check it as kendo does.
@@Druid_Ignacy I train it and we do that sort of thing also, in kendo, they count as valid hit when the shinai wrap around the oppoent blade and hit the opponent as a valid hit, that's not proper edge aligment nor cutting power
@@sirxarounthefrenchy7773 I wouldn't be so sure if kendo count that as a hit. I see kendo judging as ,,attack has to be perfect to count", which means parry does not have to be perfect, and hema judging as ,,parry has to be perfect to or else hit counts", which means attack doesn't have to be. These both approaches are ,,realistic" if you will and serve well as training tool, however kendo has much more developed system of measuring cut power and edge alingment and they stick to it much more strictly than any other sport.
....mmh? When does any of this look like an anime? I mean its all these super powers and kicks that launch ppl in the air and thru walls on anime. Also they don't use the weapons the right way... Where is the anime in this film?
@@omargahanna195 felt - simple past tense of "to feel", regarding sensations and experience. Look - visual representation for comparing similarities in appearance. In anime, entire episodes exist where you can feel the tension, calculations and energy even before the first strike. In some cases, the best soundtracks can be heard during these moments, especially with samurai anime. Anime - animations with larger than life effects such as super powered events. Live action anime - real life attempt at capturing the artform of anime Try again later. Use your fingers to point and sound out each word to get an objective feel for what is being said.
@@Boasill many martial arts doesn't usually spar, like kung fu. It is a very powerful martial art but practicioners doesn't spar and practice actual fighting with it. Spar is important and should happen from day 1 of training in my opinion.
@@MinadoCoelho maybe not day 1 but everyone who has learned the basics should in my opinion practice soft to medium intensity sparring at least once a week and hard sparring once in a month to have at least a little grasp of their actual skill level
@@OG_Jin_Bling Note that Kenjutsu is actually an umbrella term so when saying Kenjutsu you can be refering to many different arts. As Kenjutsu was used by the samurai to kill in battle, it is based around practical sword combat, it has many stances and even some grappling. Attacks are meant to kill, depending on tthe school you may also learn to attack or counter while drawing your sword. As it was mainly used while wearing armor, it doesn't favor unarmed strikes or weak sword attacks, as there are many stances there are also many footwork patterns and such, it is very flexible in that matter as you can move in many ways without it being wrong, you may attack any part of the body. Kendo is the Budo of Kenjutsu, meaning that it is not meant to be used to fight but for sport. Attacks are just meant to hit your opponent (note how Kendokas will just flick their Shinainat their opponents head, which would not do a lot of damage in a real fight, let alone against an armored opponent) and not to actually kill/disable them, it basically has one/two stances, the footwork is average, they do only move in certain ways, and the practitioners may only hit the head, throat, the wrists, and some parts of the body. Even tho it seems like i'm saying that Kenjutusu is superior, i'm not. Because both of them are better at what they are meant for. Kenjutsu to kill and disable, while Kendo for sport. As you can see on this video, Kenjutsu can also work for sport but what you choose is on you. Hope i helped
@@jestfullgremblim8002 Watching again, I noticed the tapping of the strikes. Even though it's more of a sport, it reminds me of another video talking about the katana, and that while it's not sharper or stronger and not the best for thrusting, it is able to make devasting cuts from just the tip of the sword.
@@OG_Jin_Bling i mean, that's kinda right (you got the "it's not sharper" kinda wrong tho, Katanas are usually sharper than other swords) it can make good cuts from flicks. But this is why i mentioned that Kenjutsu practitioners actually train to fight armored opponents, a flick would not damage samurai armor. Also, i don't think that a flick to the head in Kendo style would be able to kill someone, it's just seems unlikely to go throught the skull, i'm no sword expert thought, so i could be wrong.
@@OG_Jin_Bling are you planning in practicing one of the two arts? If so, it is up to you. It's the almost the same case with Jujutsu and Judo, Kenjutus has more techniques and it's supposed to teach you how to kill (you can still kill with Kendo but it's not made for that) yet Kendokas spar more and have a safer way of training too, which mean that they can get better and better without being injured. These arguments also aply to Jujutsu and Judo, not with Taijutsu and Taido tho
He really did Nito-Ryu with the saya! Hahaha also that iai-draw attack was chef's kiss! Thanks for the video guys awesome demonstration. I think kenjutsu scored more points because they have more free movements in slashes as opposed to the 4 kendo targets. Great video I love this content, keep it up!
This was like watching a live-action episode of Rurouni Kenshin. I could hear the inner monologues of the fighters in between the action and the background music from that show as I watched and it was amazing. Great swordmanship from both participants!
i've practiced kendo for a year when i was little. this was fun to watch and i think it ended up exactly as i predicted. more strikes from kendo and more slashes with kenjutsu.
He did the Battosai thing with the scabbard. I love how the kenjutsu changes form everythime. I tried Kendo once and feels like a cowboy gun duel but with bamboo swords or shinai
I had a Japanese history professor who told our class that in a samurai duel there was a 75% chance of death. How can that be? Because 100% of the losers died and 50% of the winners died later from wounds.
I study kenjutsu and in my opinon the only reason why the winner of said fights came out with zero injury is because of a difference in skill, and by difference I mean a large one.
This is actually rather interesting. Both of these disaplines started out from the same place, and diverged to fit specific roles. One diverged and became a sport, while the other diverged and became a self defense system for a newly emerging world. It seems clear to me the one designed with combat in mind is better in a fight...not all that surprising, as it enfisizes defense during and after the attack rather than just during. In sport, it does not matter much if you turn your back after a strike, but it does matter in combat.
Running past after an attack, turning the back to the opponent as kendokas do is specifically supposed to prevent follow up attacks. And when done right, it tends to achieve that, since it can be very fast. But, it's really not unusual for kendokas to start doing it too slow. Even for really good and high ranking ones. Fact to the matter is, that doing it properly is very exhausting. You could probably pull it off in a fight, but if you try to do it dozens of times through a number of rounds of sparring, you'll run out of stamina pretty fast. So people start to slack off on it. And often it becomes something of a habit too. Kendo rules also somewhat enable it, since it's not allowed to hit someone in the back. And sometimes even encourage it a bit, since in a match, stepping out of bounds of the arena is a foul, and if you move past your opponent at full speed, you might end up having trouble stopping and turning in time.
honestly, this video is quite special for me(along with muay Thai match.) not only it's prove my thought that some flashy move from anime, movie can be usable for combat(0:02,1:42 iai quick draw from most Japanese games-manga-anime , 0:08,1:01/1:03 ,1:32/1:34 neck slicing - rurouni kenshin the beginning, 3:00 use sheathe as second attack - rurouni kenshin 1 ). it also show the difference between sport and real combat techniques. just like muay Thai and normal boxing. the other one have many move and suitable for combat. and the other one have fewer move and used for sport.(another example is just like dog and wolf. both of them is similar. but the other one is more badass)
This reminds me of something I heard along the way in the HEMA community; if a German and an Italian were to fight, the German would lose but the Italian would die.
Watching this as a HEMA practitioner, I find it interesting how close the resting measure is in Japanese swordsmanship. For example, at 0:25, the kendo fighter is able to land an overhand strike in two tempos (reposition sword to high guard, strike) before the kenjustu fighter is able to even register what's happening. You can see the Kenjustu fighter go for a hanging parry eventually, which he lands on the third attempt, but he's having to rush to regain the initiative. If the fighters were each an additional pace away from each other, that two tempo action wouldn't be viable, as the reposition to high guard would telegraph the kendo fighter's intention, giving the kenjutsu fighter more time to respond, and maybe even size the initiative with a quick thrust to the high point-forward guard (seen in 2:44), which would still keep the kenjutsu fighter covered from the afterblow. Anyway, fun video as always! I love seeing the different approaches to swordfighting developed by different cultures
My suspicion (as a relative latecomer to HEMA) is that the kendo fighter has more experience. Overall he seemed very good at controlling the measure and the pace and adapted quickly to unfamiliar elements. Is it just me, or was the start of the exchange around 1:20 very reminiscent of rapier, at least to start?
@@gatling216 The kendo fighter definitely has more sparring time under his belt from the look of it, especially against different fighters. Not surprising, since he has an entire channel dedicated to it. As for the exchange at 1:20, you're right to see rapier in it. The kendo fighter is doing what in Italian fencing is called a cavatzione, a disengagement of the point to gain an advantage of angle or leverage. This is a pretty common thing to do when both fencers are seeking openings from a point forward position, so with rapiers, of course, this maneuver is a staple.
@@FigureOnAStick Glad to know I’m not going crazy. I’m still fairly new, at least to the practical side. It’s nice to see that some principles seem to be fairly universal.
@@gatling216 Not crazy at all, it seems you've got a good eye! You'll find as you become more experienced that much of the differences between different styles is not so much the mechanics, but rather the historical/cultural contexts of the arts and the different intentions for which they were developed (battlefield combat, personal self-defense, dueling, sport, spiritual practice, etc.)
I’m learning a German style that revolves around an excessively long blade and a 2 handed hilt, on account of the fact that I’m 2 meters tall and I’ve yet to find a more traditional guard I can fit my hand inside without rubbing my knuckles raw. But as my instructor is fond of saying, there are only so many good ways to shove a pointy bit of metal into another person. It makes sense that different traditions would come to the same solutions, adapted to fit the tools and use cases.
You can definitely tell that Kenjutsu was built for combat once the practitioner started using the different varieties of techniques. Very similar to what you might find in European Sword Fighting manuals and HEMA. You see similar guard positions and similar usage of opportunistic and full strength strikes. However it is very clear that Kendo was derived from Kenjutsu technique. It's almost like looking at the difference between a rapier/saber duel vs fencing. Real Combat Technique requires trying to maim or kill which is born out in the different styles. Its very fascinating. Though the kenjutsu Techniques remind me greatly of Longsword or more specifically Messer technique. That makes sense though, the blade shapes of the Messer and Katana/Tachi are virtually identical (though construction may differ). The Katana and Messer were developed around similar time periods too! Amazing bit of convergent evolution for swordmaking! It is also clear that the Kendo practitioner has more sparring time under his belt. He reacts faster and makes better judgements. This really shows that experience is as important as technique.
for someone who watch a lot of this channel's video. this episode is just like when the protagonist of anime(kendo guys) fight with his evil self(or evil twins) who used the same technique as protagonist. but more brutal, more dirty. (or if this were game. this just like the stage where player fight with their character as a boss, aka mirror match. just your character as a boss have more move than the one you control)
I love to see these. Some great hits for both sparring partners! What kind of sword simulator is the kenjutsu guy using? What is that made of? It looks cool, whatever it is.
Very interesting comparison here. I've always wanted to see the comparison between this. Despite being apple & orange, both can be fatal if both side use a steel pipe in fight.
There is a reason to compare the two because Kendo techniques would get you killed in a real sword fight as it’s a sport, Kenjutsu which is the actual sword art the Samurai used, is far superior. Like the Kendo guy charging at the opponent the way he does is plain suicidal.
I like to see it like boxing. One guy may have a huge arsenal, but the other guy has an amazing jab. Bruce Lee - Fear the man that practices the same kick a million time, not the one who knows a million kicks.
Just to add to these two, I think that it's the difference between "combat sports" vs traditional martial arts. Traditional martial arts might have a lot of techniques, but techniques are nothing if you can't use them irl. Combat sport might be limited for safety, but pressure tested. That being said, if the kenjutsu guy spars more, then that versatility gives more edge. Although as far as I know, some strikes from kenjutsu are banned to be used on kendo for safety so he might limit himself for sparring.
Kendo guy just used chudan no kamae. He could have used jodan no kamae or nito ryu, but most kendokas just focuses on improving their chudan. Kendo kata also teach some usage of waki or haso no kamae, though they're of no use in kendo keiko. Anyway, I think in this kind of sparring it could be used. But again, most kendokas prefer just to keep using chudan no kamae.
I used to learn Kendo - in Thailand with a Japanese 5th Dan Sensei. And was also a fencing team captain! (foil) at 16 years old. Shinai=Foil (point-scoring practice weapons). Fighting with a katana, or a real epee, rapier etc. is quite another business ! A single live blade/point strike that gets past your armour is probably the end of the fight/life. All good fun though, thanks for the video and may the force be with us all!
It's really cool seeing how the kendoka is all about the light taps, pulling punches, and evading afterward. Very interesting seeing the sport vs the more re-creational style.
Those "taps" are quite technical and take a few years to learn. If you can do one against a resisting opponent and you know the first three kata, that is enough to pass our shodan (equivalent to black belt) exam. The kenjutsu on display here appears (to others, I have never trained it) to be derived from Katori Shinto Ryu which is a living tradition not a re-construction.
It’s still impressive how well kendo holds up against a usage of a sword art that is meant to be more about landing fatal hits. Especially when you see comments on kendo saying that it’s completely unpractical in actual katana usage due to its nature of favoring on just getting the first hit for the sake of a sport. It’s still not the most optimal way of using a sword, but it’s still not a pushover. I would bet money that in a fight to the death duel between someone who’s never held a katana and someone who has practiced kendo, that the kendo player will win almost every fight.
@@kurage_medusa of course, but this training sword has Demon Slayer or One Piece style design on the blade. I'm not sure if it is Demon Slayer or One Piece tho
really interesting to see I kinda have the feeling that Kendo is a bit too predictable as it mostly comes to the same cut to the head But I havent sparred with a Kendo fighter yet so it might be very different in the actual fight